REVIEW: Dreams of a Dark Warrior by Kresley Cole

As far as the timeline of Kresley Cole’s Immortals After Dark series goes, her latest release, Dreams of a Dark Warrior (which will from here on be abbreviated), shares some time with her previous book Demon from the Dark. DoaDW starts before and ends after Demon from the Dark, but we get glimpses of the main characters and hints of that plot as things overlap. This is a series that definitely builds on itself, so it should be read in order, says me.

We begin with a curse – Regin the Radiant and Aidan the Fierce were lovers, but fate tore them apart. Aidan is doomed to be reborn, find Regin, fall in love and remember their past together just before he again dies in her arms. Again and again and again.

Regin is a Valkyrie known for her fighting skills and her pranks. She is an immortal daughter of Odin. Aidan was a Berserker – mortal but with special fighting abilities. Just before he died the first time, Aidan vowed to win enough battles in Odin’s name so he would be gifted with immortality so they could be together forever. That didn’t work out so well for him.

When Regin again senses that Aidan may be nearby, she decides to stay away this time – watching him die is too hard and maybe if she stays away, he will get to live a long, happy life. Fate steps in again – this time around Aidan is Declan Chase, a Magister for a group called The Order (and the winner for most creative organizational name goes to….). The Order is dedicated to eliminating all immortals and they aren’t a squeamish bunch, if you know what I mean.

Chase and his henchmen snag Regin after a battle goes wrong and carry her off to a super-secret island where all sorts of immortals are being held. The Order is experimenting on them to find weaknesses and ways to defeat (exterminate) more immortals. Just before the drugs knock her out, Regin realizes that Chase is actually Aidan.

After Regin wakes up in a cell surrounded by other immortal prisoners, she re-thinks her let-Aidan-live-this-time plan. She decides that the best plan of action is for her to make Chase remember their past as quickly as possible, since he always dies right after remembering. So when Chase interrogates her to find out all he can about the Valkyries, she tells him about her life – with him. Even though he doesn’t remember yet, Chase is intrigued and attracted to her. For the first time in his adult life, being physically attracted to a woman doesn’t make him nauseous.

Regin and Chase continue their dance, neither wanting to admit that it is becoming more than a way to get information about an enemy. Chase begins to dream about his previous lives but attributes it to Regin’s storytelling abilities…or maybe an enchantment. He still doesn’t trust her or any immortal. But before he can regain his memory – like within inches of regaining his memory – his boss arrives and has Regin dragged back to her cell.

The plot really starts cranking along at that point – drugs, torture (not for the faint of heart), treachery of all sorts. The arrival of a very powerful immortal brings down the walls of the prison, but a failsafe in the island’s security protocol means the entire island will be destroyed in a few days. Regin and her friends have to ally themselves with some unsavory types to get off the island in time, including Lothaire, the Enemy of Old (a very intriguing character and the bad Immortals Nix equivalent, apparently). Will they escape before the island blows?? You know the drill, faithful reader. Read the book!

This is a very good entry in the IAD series (gruesome torture aside). A bit darker in tone – hello, set in a prison – it expands the IAD world even more. Until now, humans haven’t had much going on in the coming/happening Accession, but The Order is something to be reckoned with and they have connections on the inside of the Lore…that can’t be good. But Dreams of a Dark Warrior is.

Grade: B+

Summary:

HE VOWED HE’D COME FOR HER . . .

Murdered before he could wed Regin the Radiant, warlord Aidan the Fierce seeks his beloved through eternity, reborn again and again into new identities, yet with no memory of his past lives.

SHE AWAITS HIS RETURN . . .

When Regin encounters Declan Chase, a brutal Celtic soldier, she recognizes her proud warlord reincarnated. But Declan takes her captive, intending retribution against all immortals—unaware that he belongs to their world.

TO SATE A DESIRE MORE POWERFUL THAN DEATH . . .

Yet every reincarnation comes with a price, for Aidan is doomed to die when he remembers his past. To save herself from Declan’s torments, will Regin rekindle memories of the passion they once shared—even if it means once again losing the only man she could ever love?

Since I was bored, I poked around her site. Looks like Lothaire is next.

What is planned in the Immortals After Dark Series in 2011?

I’ll have one full-length release. DREAMS OF A DARK WARRIOR came out in February.

How many IAD books will there be?

After 2011, there will be at least four more full-length novels (including Lothaire’s book in early 2012). There really is no end in sight for the series. I have another dozen plotted out, so I’m ready for more if you are!

c2
on February 15, 2011 at 5:57 pm

Wo0t! I had never given Lothaire much thought before this book, I must say. I wonder if he and Furie (?? – the chick under the sea) are paired up? That could lead to some interesting groveling. LOL

Bummer for me, I’m so behind in this series and I love it after reading the first few. Sigh. Hopefully I’ll be able to get back to it one day. Soon. Maybe.

MandaM
on February 15, 2011 at 9:53 pm

Cole said long ago that Furie’s hero would be Kristoff, the vampire king, and that her story would be towards the end (if not the last book) of the series.

MandaM
on February 15, 2011 at 9:55 pm

Cole said long ago that Furie’s hero would be Kristoff, the vampire king, and that her story would be towards the end (if not the last book) of the series. I don’t know if that still holds true or not, but she also said recently that Lothaire’s heroine is so EVIL — her caps, not mine — that she even gives him pause. I have my suspicions. . . .

c2
on February 15, 2011 at 9:58 pm

Sandy – when you get time, you’ve got some fun reading coming. 🙂

Manda – I completely forgot about Kristoff. Duh! And suspicions?? You must SHARE them! LOL

I am in an obvious minority here in that i really was crushed by this book. Please don’t hate on me but I almost cried i was so disapointed. I had anticipated this book for months. My blog has been a veritable Kresley Cole fan site the last week.
I felt all the flashbacks took time away from developing a nuanced relationship between Chase and Regin, and instead it was just filled with torture and horror, until the place comes crashing down and suddenly they have a real chance to get to know eachother as they are on the run and it isn’t enough. I just don’t find IAD’s version of Joseph Mengele to be sexy.
I am so sad. I have read every book, some over and over. This is one that I’ll never come back to. The only bright spot for me was Lothaire. I’ve been fascinated by his deal for years.
I was sure he was going to be Nix’s HEA but when I saw the above comment about his match is EVIL, I got to thinking….what if she finds a way to regenerate and its La Dorada?

c2
on February 16, 2011 at 4:08 pm

L – The torture was too much for me too. Gah! Not romantic!! I didn’t mind the flashbacks though. I figure those are parts of his personality Declan will uncover over time. And Lothaire WAS fascinating, wasn’t he? And perhaps schizophrenic. LOL I wondered about La Dorada as his heroine, too, after Manda mentioned the EVIL heroine…do you suppose La Dorada can de-corpse-ify herself somehow? So intriguing!

L – I had some issues with Declan, but I was eventually won over to the romance. The second half of the book was stronger.

@C2, too: I suppose La Dorada could be his heroine, but she seems like she’s an enemy of his heroine . . . if she is though, we better hope she can de-corpse-ify. Or that will be a really uncomfortable book.

c2
on February 17, 2011 at 7:55 am

LOL @ Liv 😀 So if Lothaire’s heroine isn’t La Dorada (because you are SO right about the potential ick factor there), isn’t Furie and isn’t Nix, who IS she?? I am so curious now! Are there any uber-baddies that have been mentioned in passing that we haven’t met? Maybe a witch? Their blood is bad for vampires, right? Hmm…

MandaM
on February 17, 2011 at 11:27 pm

I’m worried it’s going to be La Dorada, too. Ugh! That just doesn’t sound appealing. I had hoped Lothaire’s mate would be Nix, too, but Kresley Cole has said that her book will be later in the series, so she’s out (unless that’s just a red herring). I like the witch idea — they’re always fun.

AC
on February 25, 2011 at 7:02 am

Bummer! I thought Lothaire and Nix had a thing going… Insight-foresight thing. And he does tell someone (Declan??) while sucking his blood to ignore him if he accidentally moans a Valkyrie’s name during leeching.

c2
on February 25, 2011 at 7:28 am

AC – Ohhh, I am totally gonna check that out when I get home. I remember Lothaire saying something about moaning a name but I don’t remember him mentioning a Valkyrie specifically. The plot thickens! 🙂